Asia
Watsons, AS Watson Group’s leading health and beauty brand, opened over 1,400 new stores across Asia amid the Covid-19 pandemic and in June, Watsons Malaysia opened its 700th store in the market.
Dominic Lai, Group Managing Director of AS Watson Group, said: “The pandemic has been a huge challenge for us and retailers around the world.”
“The passion and dedication of our 130,000 employees around the world as they continue to care for our customers has made the difference and enabled us to weather the storm and turn the crisis into opportunity.”
“We have not stopped our network expansion even in difficult times because we have a solid O+O strategy that meets the needs of our customers. We continue to identify strategic locations across Asia and have opened over 1,400 new stores in the last three years.”
He added: “We are delighted to announce the opening of Watsons’ 700th store in Malaysia, one of our fastest growing markets in Asia. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, Watsons Malaysia has grown from 535 stores in 2019 to 700 stores today.”
“Our loyalty program membership has grown from 5.7 million in 2019 to 7.2 million members, meaning 1.5 million new members have been added in a short period of time. Watsons Malaysia has also recorded high double-digit revenue growth so far this year, continuing to be the market leader.”
Watsons Malaysia’s 700th store is located at KSL Esplanade Mall.
It is the largest Watsons store in the prime Klang district, with a sales area of more than 370 square meters and offers services such as StyleMe, a virtual makeup try-on device with augmented reality, a W-table for trying on new and exclusive products, and professional makeup artists who give customers personalized recommendations.
RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS 2024
A key focus of the sixth edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards, for which applications are now open, is brick-and-mortar stores.
Sponsored by CADS, 3D Cloud, Retail Technology Show 2025 and Business France, the awards recognize global technical innovation in a fast-moving omnichannel world.
Participation is free and possible in several categories.
Important dates 2024
Friday, October 25: Deadline for the award
Tuesday, October 29: Shortlist for 2024 announced
30 October-6 November: Assessment days
Thursday, November 21: The winners will be announced at the RTIH Innovation Awards 2024 ceremony, which will be held at the RIBA headquarters at 66 Portland Place in central London.
